The Tales of Saint Anthony, The First Day

Genevieve La Salle, Nurse

Genevieve La Salle enjoyed her morning walk down Douglass Avenue, past the Seven Pools, across the bottleneck where Lyndale and Hennepin Avenues merged and through Jewett's Park. She could always go around the southside of it, which was a more direct route to the hospital where she worked, but she preferred to walk over the bridge that crossed the little pond, where she would stop to feed the ducks and goldfish crumbs of crust from her morning slice of toast.

It was a pleasant walk, even on a humid morning like this one.

She had left her apartment feeling well-composed and pretty, she walked slowly so as not to overheat. Her neat and freshly starched white uniform crinkled as she went, her white shoes were quiet on the pavement, and her long dark curls were tightly coifed in her nurses cap.

Genevieve was proud of her profession.

She went past the shuffleboard and the tennis courts, where she might see some young men playing at their games.

She liked to see them shirtless and sweating.

Genevieve was always on the lookout for one particular fellow, a man who looked to be her age, perhaps a little younger.

He was tall and handsome, and wore a suit that looked like it needed mending.

She would often see him sitting on a bench reading the paper, or perhaps writing in a notebook and smoking...which Genevieve did not like.

There was something mysterious about him and she found it alluring.

Onoccasion they said good morning to one another. He was always polite, and shewas always demure, but she did not see him today.